


Don't You Want Me?

by exo_everlasting



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Knotting, M/M, Wolf!AU, a/b/o dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-27 00:06:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10797600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exo_everlasting/pseuds/exo_everlasting
Summary: Jongdae and Sehun have been best friends since the young beta was in diapers.  When another alpha takes interest in Sehun, alpha Jongdae realizes his own feelings, and wants Sehun for himself.





	Don't You Want Me?

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 2015 Bottom Sehun fic exchange. Many, many, many thanks to my AMAZING beta readers, Lolistar73 and notgonnadie12, neither of whom could I possibly have gotten through this without! Thank you from the bottom of my heart to both of you! <3

^・x・^

“Hey, guess what?” Sehun flings himself through the door of his best friend’s room and tackles the older boy, whose shirt is wrapped around his elbows and head as he was in the middle of taking it off. Jongdae shrieks a very manly sound - he is an alpha, after all - and thrashes in the hold of their pack’s maknae as they bounce on the mattress. After several moments of struggle, and a few calculated swats to the pup’s face, Jongdae finally wrestles his shirt all the way off.

“What the hell? Get your bony ass off of me!” Grabbing a handful of thick silver hair, Jongdae attempts to pull the howling boy from on top of him. He rolls as hard as he can, beating on the boy’s ribs with his small fist, but the stronger beta refuses to be removed.

“Ow, ow, ow, owwww!” Sehun’s laughter turns to pained wails as he wrestles his smaller friend on the bed. “Not the hair! Why do you always go for the hair?” He turns his head instinctively, with his mouth wide open, and bites down on the closest skin he can reach. The body beneath him stills, and he mentally cheers his victory until he realizes that Jongdae isn’t breathing. Panicked, Sehun releases the flesh between his teeth and throws himself backward, landing on the floor with a gasp. 

He scrambles onto his knees to peek over the bed, where he sees Jongdae lying with his eyes tightly closed, his right hand gripping the left side of his neck. The small alpha senses Sehun’s presence and releases the breath he’d been holding in a humorless laugh. “Don’t do that unless you mean it, pup.” 

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Sehun scrambles back onto the bed, and wraps both of his hands around Jongdae’s right wrist, tugging insistently. “Shit, let me see! Did I claim you? I swear it was an accident!” He pulls the older boy’s hand away from his neck and releases a whoosh of air in relief. “You’re okay! I didn’t break the skin!”

Jongdae opens his eyes and blinks at his friend, the corners of his mouth turned down for just a moment before he abruptly barks a laugh. “Well thank God for that, who’d want to be stuck with a little shit like you for a mate?” He pulls his hand out of the pouting beta’s grip and rubs at the mark that is rapidly disappearing. 

“Hey! Who are you calling little, you runt!” Sehun responds, shoving at the smaller wolf’s bicep with both hands, nearly knocking him off the mattress. Jongdae swings his feet to the floor and stands to get away from his best friend’s reach. He picks a clean-enough shirt off the back of his desk chair and pulls it over his head with his back turned to Sehun, hoping to stall long enough for the heat in his cheeks and the sudden pounding in his chest to subside.

“What did you want, anyway?” Jongdae asks, throwing a mock glare over his shoulder. “Barging in and molesting me like that,” he grumbles. “Rude ass bitch,” he insults his friend impishly, snapping his fingers and cocking his hip. 

“Oh, yeah!” Sehun shouts, standing quickly and throwing his arms around his best friend’s middle tightly enough to be the Heimlich maneuver. Jongdae elbows him weakly in the gut and gives a half-hearted wiggle to make him loosen his hold. “I have the greatest news! You will never believe who asked me out!”

Jongdae briefly thinks he might actually need the Heimlich when his heart leaps up into his throat, threatening to choke him. “Oh yeah?” he gulps, breaking out of Sehun’s embrace and turning to face him. He forces a lilt in his voice. “Who?”

The younger wolf bounces on his toes, grasping both of Jongdae’s hands and swinging them left to right. “Guess!” he barks, his excitement palpable. “No, wait! You will legitimately never get it! Oh my God, it’s Minseok!” Sehun releases the older boy’s hands to grasp at his own hair in disbelief. “Can you believe it? Me? I’m just a beta, and he’s an alpha! Like, the most sought after alpha in the world, and he asked me out!” Sehun pauses in his rambling, giving Jongdae a break from the barrage of words that are making his head spin. He sits down heavily on the corner of the bed, looking up at Jongdae with comically wide eyes in his normally stoic face. “Why did he ask me out, Jongdae? What if I fuck up? I can’t do this!”

Jongdae’s mind is racing, and his hands unconsciously clench, leaving fingernail impressions in his palms. He mentally tries to find a reason to stop Sehun from even thinking about dating Minseok, some horrible character flaw that would make him a terrible match for the younger beta, but he can’t come up with a single one. Minseok is intelligent and powerful, but also generous and compassionate. He speaks with authority, but can be as silly as any of the youngsters in the pack. There is no question that he would give the shirt off his back or lay down his own life to protect any one of their members, including Sehun. How could Jongdae, one of the lowest alphas on the totem pole, possibly compete with Minseok? And why does he suddenly want to compete for his best friend’s attention?

“Ok, just hakuna your tatas,” Jongdae says with a forced grin, hoping to alleviate his friend’s sudden panic attack. 

Sehun releases his death-grip on his hair, and looks up at him with an adorably confused expression on his face. “Hakuna my what, now?”

“Calm your tits, dorkface. Tell me everything.”

Taking a deep breath, Sehun smiles nervously up at the small alpha, patting the mattress beside him. Jongdae rolls his eyes and sits down hard enough to bounce the silver-haired boy off the corner of the bed, landing him on the floor for the second time in five minutes. He peers over the edge when his friend doesn’t get up, and chuckles when he sees him lying flat on his back with his eyes closed, laughing breathlessly.

Jongdae reaches down and grasps Sehun’s right hand with his own, and drags the boy back up to the bed, throwing him face down across the mattress. Lying down next to his friend, he props his head on his fist and punches Sehun’s shoulder, making the boy roll onto his side to face him, matching his position.

“Ok, spill. How did Minseok the Magnificent ask you out?”

With his smile nearly splitting his face, and his eyes making joyful crescents, Sehun flops over onto his back and flails his arms, just missing Jongdae. “Ok, so this is what happened,” he exhales giddily. “I was just walking in the door from class, and he was standing there holding a card, right? I said ‘Hi, hyung, whatcha looking at?’ and he said it was an invitation to Dongwoo hyung and Sunggyu hyung’s joining ceremony. Then he just said, ‘do you want to go with me?’ and I think I said ‘sure,’ but I might have just squeaked, and then I ran up here to tell you!”

“Oh my God, you moron!” Jongdae shouts, laughing gleefully and forgetting his unease over the thought of his best friend dating for just a moment as he slaps Sehun’s chest repeatedly with his open hand. 

“What? What’d I do?” Sehun shrieks, throwing his arms up to defend himself.

Jongdae sits up and grabs hold of Sehun’s shoulders, shaking him roughly against the mattress. “You left before even talking to him, that’s what you did. Did he even ask you for a DATE date, or are you just going as friends? Do you even know?” The thought that Minseok isn’t really interested in Sehun makes Jongdae giddy. Surely, the future Alpha of the pack wouldn’t want to mate with Sehun, a beta four years his junior. He sees him as a little brother, doesn’t he?

“Oh!” Sehun gasps, sitting up to face his friend, his hair and clothes completely disheveled. Jongdae can’t help himself. He cards his fingers through the tousled silver strands, smoothing Sehun’s bedhead into something a little closer to his usual style. The attention-craving pup closes his eyes and leans into his touch, momentarily forgetting his post-teenage angst. Jongdae’s heart swells with warmth, and he catches himself smiling wistfully at the younger boy. 

He clears his throat and drops his hand, nudging Sehun’s shoulder to wake him from his warm and fuzzy, ‘someone-is-petting-me-please-don’t-ever-stop’ daze. “So?” he questions.

“So, what?” Sehun responds, blinking slowly at Jongdae. The older wolf sighs in exasperation, more frustrated with himself for finding Sehun’s befuddlement so endearing than he is at his younger packmate’s life-long habit of zoning out whenever someone shows him affection. 

“So is it a potential-mate date or a friend date?”

Sehun’s eyes widen when he remembers what they had been talking about. “Oh my God, I don’t know! Do you ask someone to a joining just as friends? Isn’t that a romantic thing?”

“Usually. But this is Woodong and Snuggy’s joining you’re talking about. I think it’s going to be more of a kegger party than a big, fussy ceremony. He could totally be asking you as a friend,” Jongdae shrugs nonchalantly, while in his mind he is chanting ‘just friends, just friends, just friends’ over and over.

Sehun snorts at the nicknames Jongdae has given their seniors from the neighboring pack, but sobers quickly. “You’re probably right. Why would he want me? I can’t even have kids.” He visibly wilts, slouching and staring at his feet. 

“You _are_ a kid,” Jongdae says brightly, hoping to cheer up his friend. “Maybe he just wants to adopt you!”

His ploy works. Sehun snickers, and smacks Jongdae’s knee. “Asshole.”

“C’mon,” Jongdae says, ruffling Sehun’s hair. “Let’s go find him and see if we can figure it out. I’ll be your wingman.”

“Wolves don’t have wings,” Sehun huffs, standing up and smoothing his shirt.

“Fine. I’ll be your wolfman.”

Sehun groans, but follows his best friend into the hallway of the pack house. 

They sneak down the stairs on tiptoe, both of them whisper-giggling as their actions remind them of the childhood pranks they played on their pack members. Jongdae was always the instigator. As an alpha, he would be raised as a hunter, following tradition of their wolven ancestry, even though their modern pack with nearby grocery stores rarely had the desire or need to truly hunt. Due to his tiny stature and quick mind, however, it was decided by the elder council when he was eight years old that he would learn tracking, rather than the physical skills that the more able alphas like Yifan and Minseok were educated in.

Being a beta two years younger than Jongdae, Sehun’s parents encouraged his friendship with the diminutive alpha. They hoped he would benefit from the older boy’s guidance, since beta children were often overlooked in favor of those with the more significant ranks of alpha and omega. Sehun ended up getting into trouble more often than not, because Jongdae’s idea of stealth training usually involved sneaking up on an unsuspecting packmate and goading Sehun into scaring him.

An unwavering bond developed between them over the many years spent terrorizing their pack. Jongdae’s fun-loving attitude and kind heart attracted many friends and admirers, human and hybrid, but he really only ever wanted to spend time with Sehun. Recently, as the younger beta has matured from the awkward, gangly teenager into a handsome young man, Jongdae has found himself craving his presence even more than usual. Now that Sehun has developed an interest in someone for the first time, Jongdae realizes that maybe his own feelings for the beta have been gradually getting stronger without him even noticing. Maybe he wants to spend the rest of his life with Sehun. As mates. 

They reach the main floor with Jongdae in the lead. He peeks his head around the corner with his left hand flat against the wall, fingers splayed, and he feels Sehun’s fingers slip in between the spaces. He taps the beta’s middle finger with his own three times, signalling that three people are present in the huge, open living area. Using their private version of morse code that they’ve developed over the years for silent communication, Sehun taps back the name Minseok. Jongdae retreats behind the wall, completely unseen by their pack members, and nods solemnly at Sehun. The boy’s face splits into a grin, and he grasps Jongdae’s hand happily. 

Jongdae takes a deep breath, then barrels into the room, dragging Sehun behind him. “Hey guys, what’s up?” he says to the three men in the room with a phony smile plastered on his face.

Chanyeol and Yixing both grunt in response, not taking their attention off of the drama they are watching, but Minseok looks up and absolutely glows with happiness when he lays eyes on the beta, standing up from his recliner with powerful grace. “Hi, Sehun,” he says warmly, “You ran out so fast earlier, we didn’t get to make any plans.”

“Hi to you, too, hyung,” Jongdae says cheekily, interrupting Sehun before he can respond. The beta’s cheeks turn pink, and he squeezes Jongdae’s hand painfully in retribution.

“Sorry, Jongdae, I didn’t mean to ignore you,” the future Alpha of the pack replies sincerely, bowing in genuine apology. 

As much as he would like to hate the man right now, Jongdae can’t find it in himself to. His love and respect for Minseok runs deep. “No worries,” he responds with a wink, “all in good fun.” He returns the bow to his senior, while pulling Sehun to stand beside him. “Sehunnie said something about a joining ceremony?”

“Yes!” Minseok responds brightly. “We got an invitation to Sunggyu and Dongwoo’s joining today, that’s what I need to talk to Sehun about. The entire pack is invited of course,” he turns his focus directly on the beta, “but I’d hoped that you would be my date, Sehun?” 

Jongdae’s heart falls as Sehun drops his hand and barks, “Yeah!” He clears his throat and adds sheepishly, “I mean yes, I’d love to be your date, Minseok hyung.” He doesn’t try to hide his delighted smile.

“Great!” Minseok beams, walking towards them. He takes Sehun’s left hand in both of his and looks up at the taller beta. “It’s a casual joining at the lake a week from Saturday. I know we haven’t spent a lot of time together over the years, but I’d really like to get to know you better.”

Jongdae’s heart is lodged firmly in his throat, so he has no sharp, sarcastic comment to make. His eyes frantically sweep the room for distraction from the budding romance happening in front of him, and land on Chanyeol and Yixing. No longer watching the television, both men’s eyes are raptly fixed on the interaction between Minseok and Sehun, eating trail mix from their shared bowl.

His mind is completely blank as he stares vacantly at his packmates, and white noise is whirring in his ears as Jongdae’s body protects him from the heartbreak that’s becoming more real by the second. How cruel that he came to the realization that he wants Sehun to be his, only to watch him be taken away in the next moment? 

He is brought back to reality by a tug at his elbow, and his eyebrows raise in confusion as he focuses on a smiling Sehun, who is urgently motioning for him to move back towards the staircase. Once Jongdae is walking on his own, Sehun moves behind him and plants both hands on the small alpha’s shoulder blades, pushing him forward. 

Sehun whispers frantically in Jongdae’s ear, “ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, he wants to date me!” The small alpha doesn’t answer.

^・x・^

Over the next few days, Jongdae avoids Sehun at every opportunity. He spends the majority of his time at the university, reading ahead on assignments at the library, volunteering at the daycare center for children of wolf and cat hybrid students, or just hanging out with the TAs after class. The weekend is more difficult. 

On Saturday night, just a week before the big date, Jongdae is ambushed in the private, forested backyard of the pack house by a sleek, silver wolf. The animal springs at him, but doesn’t use enough force to knock him to the ground, standing on his hind feet with his huge paws on Jongdae’s shoulders, his tail wagging so hard his entire body squirms happily along with it. 

“Shift, Sehun,” Jongdae says, rolling his eyes at the beta’s antics.

The wolf drops to his paws, but doesn’t shift into human form. Instead, he stretches his front paws in front of him, with his chest low to the ground, and his rump up in the air, tail wagging fiercely. He bounces left to right in this position, then pounces on Jongdae’s shoe with both front paws, leaping backwards after, holding his playful stance. 

“I don’t feel like playing,” Jongdae sighs, reaching his hand out to ruffle the fur between the large wolf’s ears. He has missed his best friend, but isn’t ready to deal with the feelings that have been overwhelming him for the past few days.

The joyful behavior stops instantly, as Sehun stands on all fours, his tail drooping sadly to touch the ground. He butts his head against Jongdae’s hip, whining and looking up at him with the most pitiful eyes the alpha has ever seen. 

“No. I mean it.”

The beta rises onto his hind legs again, wrapping his front legs under Jongdae’s arms in a doggy hug. Even as a wolf, Sehun stands taller than Jongdae in human form. He lays his big, furry head on the alpha’s shoulder and huffs a sound that resembles please right into his ear, then licks a wet stripe up the side of Jongdae’s face. 

Jongdae can’t help but return the hug, wrapping his arms around the massive, furry body and scratching behind both of the wolf’s ears. “Oh my God, you needy baby,” he says fondly, pushing the beta away. “Fine, I’ll run with you.”

Sehun yips and prances eagerly as Jongdae toes off his shoes and begins removing his shirt. The alpha’s cheeks burn in embarrassment, a new reaction brought on by his recently recognized feelings for his best friend. They have undressed and shifted in front of each other since Sehun was still in diapers, but now it feels different. 

“Turn around, you pervert,” Jongdae huffs, his head down to hide his blush. Sehun whines, and tilts his head in confusion. “Seriously, we aren’t kids anymore. Turn around.”

Once Sehun’s back is turned, Jongdae quickly finishes removing his clothes, and shifts into dark chestnut colored fur. He snuffles at the silver wolf, who immediately turns around and burrows his muzzle into the fluffy scruff of fur around Jongdae’s neck, huffing with happiness. The alpha closes his eyes and inhales Sehun’s warm, earthy scent, a feeling of contentment washing over him for the first time in days. He sighs, stepping back from the beta, who heartily disagrees with their separation. Sehun nuzzles their faces together, licking at Jongdae’s snout enthusiastically, not only in a sign of submission to the alpha, but because he has missed his friend.

Jongdae is overcome with feelings. The emotions roiling through his chest are heavy and confusing, so he does what he has been doing all week - he runs away from Sehun.

The silver wolf gives chase, exuberantly nipping at Jongdae’s heels, not realizing that the alpha isn’t simply running for fun. The dark wolf zig zags through the trees for nearly an hour in an attempt to lose the beta. Sehun may be larger, but Jongdae has speed on his side. Just when he feels that he is victorious, a blur of light-colored fur turned blue by the moonlight streaks out in front of him and knocks him to the ground. 

They lay panting on the mossy forest floor, the larger wolf curled comfortably around the smaller. If he were in his human form, Jongdae would laugh as he realizes that this run was exactly what he needed to clear his mind and free his heart from the heaviness of the past several days. He welcomes the warmth of his best friend, and knows that he can’t give up on him. Minseok may be a good man who is worthy of Sehun’s love, but Jongdae is, too. He has a week to make it up to Sehun for keeping his distance from him. A week to make the beta see that Jongdae is the right alpha for him.

His mind made up, he turns his head and licks Sehun’s muzzle delicately, then lays his head on his paws, and closes his eyes. A content whuff from Sehun is the last sound he hears before he falls asleep, snuggled together in a blissful huddle of warmth and comfort.

Hours later, Jongdae awakens when Sehun sits up with a pained whine. When he opens his eyes, he can see in the moonlight that the silver wolf is sitting on his haunches with a front paw lifted off the ground. The beta licks the underside of his foot, and whimpers again in pain. Concerned, Jongdae quickly shifts back into human, and takes the paw into his hand, lifting it to where he can see the problem - a large burr embedded between the pads. 

He carefully spreads the pads apart with his fingers, and gingerly maneuvers the spiky ball until it finally comes free. Smiling in victory, he holds it up for Sehun to see. “Got it!”

Sehun happily licks Jongdae’s face, then without warning shifts back into human. The wound on his hand is minor now, but the smile on his face is blinding. “My hero!” he says in a falsetto voice, batting his eyelashes at Jongdae. Looking down briefly, he then leers at the alpha. “My naked hero!”

Jongdae yelps, then shifts back into his wolf and snarls at a laughing Sehun. He walks away deliberately, stopping after a small distance is between them to look back over his shoulder as if to say, “are you coming?”

The silver wolf pads up behind him, butting his forehead against dark fur. Jongdae takes the lead in a leisurely gait, and they get back to the pack house just a few minutes later. In trying to lose Sehun in the forest, the alpha never realized that he had doubled back so many times that they were only a very short distance from home.

When they reach his clothes, Jongdae crouches down and shifts quickly, grabbing his pants and shirt to wrap around his lower body, still too modest to be naked in front of Sehun. He opens the back door using the security keypad, and allows the silver wolf to trot in ahead of him, watching as he scurries toward the stairs to the bedrooms. Jongdae turns off the light over the kitchen sink that he is sure Minseok left on for them, and tiredly makes his way up to his room.

He wishes he could have said goodnight to Sehun before the beta went to bed. He wanted to tell him how glad he was that they’d spent time together tonight, and how sorry he was for avoiding him the past few days, but he didn’t know how to do that without giving his feelings away. 

He sighs as he pulls on his pajama pants, ready to sleep for a few more hours, when he hears a soft knock at his door. The doorknob turns, and there stands a sleepy Sehun in a stretched out t-shirt that exposes his prominent collarbones, and tiny shorts that are barely visible beneath the hem of his shirt. Jongdae’s mouth goes dry at all the pale flesh on display.

“Can I sleep here? I miss you,” Sehun says quietly.

Jongdae’s teeth clack together as he shuts his mouth, not even realizing it was hanging open. “Of course you can,” Jongdae gulps, hoping he doesn’t look as flustered as he feels. “I miss you, too.”

They climb under the covers of the double bed and reverse their positions from the forest, this time with Jongdae curled around Sehun. “Goodnight, pup,” the alpha whispers as he wraps his arm around the beta’s middle. “Thanks for the run, I needed that.”

“Night,” Sehun yawns. “Me, too.”

It only takes a few moments before Sehun is breathing evenly in sleep, but Jongdae is wide awake, staring at the boy’s bare neck. He carefully tugs on the sleeve of the t-shirt, pulling the wide collar down to expose the soft skin of Sehun’s shoulder. How easy he thinks it would be to just claim him right here, right now. He wouldn’t have to worry about competing with Minseok, the beta would be his. But he realizes that it would be dishonest, and a betrayal of Sehun’s trust. He knows he couldn’t bear the backlash that would happen. Being exiled from the pack for such a deceitful, cowardly act of possession would pale in comparison to the pain he’d live with knowing that he’d hurt the one he loves most. 

So instead of biting the beta, he gently kisses his warm skin, then turns away from Sehun, lying on his side with their backs pressed together, and works his foot between the beta’s ankles, needing as much contact with him as he can get. He falls into a restless sleep.

^・x・^

When he wakes up, he’s lying on his back with his right arm tingling fiercely with pins and needles. Taking stock of his body without opening his eyes, he realizes that his arm is underneath Sehun, who has rolled in his sleep and is now cuddled around the alpha with his head on his bare chest and his hand resting on his left shoulder. He can feel the beta’s warm breath against the skin of his neck, and he shudders, wrapping his tingling arm around Sehun to pull him closer. He realizes that he wants to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life, pins and needles be damned. 

The younger wolf’s leg slides across both of Jongdae’s thighs, and he feels Sehun sleepily make a small rocking motion against his hip. The alpha’s realization that the beta has morning wood, and the instant reaction of his own cock hardening in response sends him into a panic. Trying not to hyperventilate, his mind races at insane speeds trying to figure out how to get out of bed without calling attention to their predicament.

“Oh my God, we’re late for class!” he shouts as he rolls out from under Sehun, shaking out the numbness in his arm. He grabs a pair of jeans from the floor, and with his back turned to the bed, he pulls off his pajama pants - without losing his boxers, he’s proud to note - and pulls on the jeans, zipping them very carefully. 

“Wha-?” Sehun questions, rubbing his eye with one curled up fist. 

Jongdae keeps up his act, pulling on last night’s shirt, and scooping his shoes from under the bed. “Class, Sehun!” he says, rather hysterically. “We’ve got to go! I’ll see you later!” 

He slams the bedroom door, and hears a sleepy mumble of “but isn’t it Sunday?” drift after him.

When he returns to the pack house about an hour later with a hot coffee for himself and a chocolate bubble tea for Sehun, he looks as sheepish as he feels. He finds Sehun sitting at the kitchen table looking at his phone, thankfully fully dressed. “Hi,” he says, thrusting the bubble tea in the beta’s general direction, bowing his head. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

Grinning, Sehun stands and takes the offered drink with one hand, and swats Jongdae on the back of his lowered head with the other. “What was that about, anyway? It’s Sunday!”

“Yeah,” Jongdae grins balefully, “oops?”

“Talk about a rude awakening,” Sehun snorts, poking his straw through the seal of his plastic tumbler. “You can make it up to me by marathoning Dragonball Z with me today, though!”

Jongdae smiles jubilantly, thrilled that Sehun wants to spend time with him, not Minseok. He hopes to keep Sehun to himself the whole day. “Ok, but my TV is way better than that craptop you watch on,” he says nonchalantly. “We can hook it up and watch in my room. Let’s grab some snacks, first.”

^・x・^

The rest of the week goes exactly the opposite of the week before. Jongdae does his very best to be in Sehun’s presence every waking moment, and finds every excuse he can to keep Sehun out of the house so that he doesn’t have to worry about the beta finding any stolen moments with Minseok. He drags him to the library, buys him lunch at the cafeteria, and is overjoyed watching Sehun play with the baby wolf and cat hybrids at the daycare center. His heart swells with even more affection as he observes the younger boy rocking a tiny pink cat girl to sleep. And when Sehun begs to sign up together as permanent volunteers at the center, Jongdae readily agrees.

Jongdae notices Minseok hovering around Sehun at the pack house on several occasions, and each time he does, he will “accidentally” barge into the room and monopolize the beta’s attention. Surprisingly, Minseok just smiles and backs off, not seeming to mind at all.

Finally, Saturday arrives, and the entire pack is excitedly getting ready for the joining ceremony. Jongdae’s nerves are absolutely shot, and he nervously paces the floor in the living room trying to burn off some anxious energy. The invitation said to dress casually, so he’s in his best pair of jeans and an untucked burgundy button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled to just below his elbows. He isn’t prepared when Sehun comes thundering down the stairs in tight black satin pants that look absolutely sinful, with a black tank top stretched snugly across his chest, baring his shoulders and toned biceps.

Once again, he feels his mouth drop open in awe of the gorgeous beta. 

“There you are!” Sehun yells, running over to the speechless alpha. “You weren’t in your room, and Baekhyun didn’t know where you were, and I couldn’t find you! Help!”

Jongdae just stares at him wordlessly, his eyes wide and his heart pounding an erratic rhythm in his chest.

Two shirts on hangers are waved in his face, one a short sleeved v-neck black mesh, the other a silky red shirt with bell sleeves and black satin lacing down the sides. “Which one do I wear?!”

The alpha comes out of his stupor and looks at both shirts, then the incredibly tight pants that hug the beta’s legs - and his hentai mind helpfully provides a mental image of how his ass must look with the shiny material stretched across it. He can’t let his future mate go out looking like sex on two legs!

“Oh my God, who is dressing you, Lestat?” Jongdae shrieks, snatching both shirts from Sehun’s hands. “Come on, let’s go find something a little less vampire, and a little more joining ceremony!” 

After following him up the stairs with the confirmation that his ass looked far too delectable in those satin pants to be unleashed in public, Jongdae convinces Sehun to change into a pair of black skinny denims and a soft grey sweater that complements his silver hair beautifully. “Ok,” Jongdae sighs wistfully, “I guess you are presentable, now. Let’s go.”

They head down the stairs to the living room, where they find all the rest of their packmates in clusters of two or three, some standing, some lounging on the sofas or chairs. Kyungsoo, a small omega, is the first to see them, and he nudges Minseok and tilts his head in their direction. The alpha smiles cheerfully at the two, then walks forward with both arms outstretched towards Sehun. He hugs the beta briefly, whispering in his ear loudly enough for Jongdae to hear, “You look wonderful!”

“Hi, Jongdae,” the alpha greets him, and Jongdae has to clench his teeth to keep from snapping at him. He wants to wrap Sehun up in his arms and whisk him back upstairs, hiding him away from Minseok and everyone else. He wants to convince Sehun that they are meant to be together, they should be mates, they should have their own joining ceremony. But instead, he nods silently at the alpha, and steps away, joining the circle that Jongin, Tao, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun have made.

He doesn’t notice the wistful expression that Sehun wears as he watches him go, or the smug look that Minseok has when the future Alpha does notice.

^・x・^

The joining is just as Jongdae expected it to be, far more of a casual celebration than a somber, elegant ceremony. Dongwoo and Sunggyu are two of the most fun-loving wolves that Jongdae has ever met, and they threw a party that matched their sunny, vibrant personalities. The stunning venue was lit with fairy lights strung through the branches of a huge circle of trees, and the delicious food and free-flowing alcohol kept the guests - wolf, cat, and human alike - happily celebrating the beta and omega’s joining.

Once the sun sets over the lake, tiki torches are lit on the beach, and a band begins playing a variety of upbeat popular songs, slow dance ballads, and novelty tunes that have everyone dancing in unison with ridiculous moves while laughing in delight.

Jongdae, however, isn’t on the dance floor. He has been putting up a false, cheerful front all night while he was engaged in conversation with the happy couple, or with his many acquaintances or other guests, but when he can, he retreats to the edge of the lake with only the company of his red cup of whatever fruity rum drink the bartenders are pouring.

This doesn’t go unnoticed by Sehun. Throughout the night, he tries to be an attentive date, listening with half an ear to the humorous stories Minseok tells, accepting several of the same fruity drinks. They dance fast songs and slow songs, and even the Chicken Dance and Macarena together, but Sehun frequently looks away, keeping an eye on Jongdae.

“So, Sehun,” Minseok says, sloshing his drink around in his red cup as they sit catching their breath at a table near the water. “Do you ever think about mating with someone?” 

Sehun gasps, and his eyes widen in shock as he turns his head towards Minseok. He had been watching Jongdae and Baekhyun talking on the beach, their bare toes buried in the sand. Minseok doesn’t miss the furtive glance back towards Jongdae that Sehun makes before spluttering an answer.

“Um...mating? I’m not sure, really,” the beta begins. “I mean, well, maybe? Why do you ask?” His eyes dart to Jongdae once again, his eyebrows furrowing.

“You know,” Minseok starts again, “I think Jongdae has been thinking about mating, too.”

“What?” Sehun screeches, standing up and knocking his chair backwards to the floor. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, I think I’ve had a little too much to drink,” he babbles, setting his chair upright and sitting down again. He can’t help turning his eyes back towards Jongdae and Baekhyun, and he’s glad that they don’t seem to have noticed his embarrassing blunder.

Minseok laughs behind his hand as the beta tries to play off his reaction. “Yes, I’m sure Jongdae is ready to take a mate, he’s showing all the signs of an alpha who is besotted. Anyone can smell it on him. He practically reeks of it.”

“What?” Sehun gasps again, this time trying to keep his voice down. “I’m a beta, I can’t detect pheromones! Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Well, sometimes a person can be so close to a situation that he is oblivious to what is going on,” Minseok says enigmatically. “Especially in love. I think you can’t see the forest for the trees, Sehun.”

Sehun just stares at the alpha, confusion written all over his face. Minseok laughs and pats the beta’s hand, then reaches up and ruffles his silver hair. “Oh my God, you are too precious, pup. It’s you he wants. He wants to mate with you.” 

His head spins to the right, looking out towards the water where he sees Jongdae is looking back at him. Jongdae visibly jumps when he realizes he has been caught staring, then turns his attention back to Baekhyun.

“And if I’m not mistaken, which I rarely am,” Minseok says smugly, “you want him, too.”

“What do I do?” Sehun whispers loudly, looking completely lost and confused.

“You go get him,” Minseok shrugs, “it’s as simple as that.”

Sehun nods, quickly slams the rest of his drink, then grabs Minseok’s and finishes it, too. He then stands up, tottering only slightly. “Get him. Right,” he nods again, straightening his shoulders as he stares at Jongdae’s profile. He turns his attention back to Minseok, bows his head quickly and mutters a quick thank you, then takes off running toward the water’s edge.

He doesn’t take into account how many drinks he has had, and trips in the sand just as he reaches Jongdae. The alpha’s fruity drink sloshes out of his cup, and soaks into Baekhyun’s ivory silk shirt, staining it bright pink. The loud omega screeches in protest, calling the attention of everyone within earshot, including his alpha mate, Chanyeol, who comes running to his aid. The tall alpha also forgets that he is drunk, and trips over his own feet on the way to rescue his mate from whatever catastrophic event is befalling him. He falls face first into the sand, but not before grabbing for his wailing mate, only reaching his hips as he falls, and pulling Baekhyun’s pants down to his ankles. 

As several of the guests laugh and scramble to help Baekhyun and Chanyeol back to the lodge to clean up, Jongdae and Sehun only have eyes for each other. “Minseok told me,” Sehun breathes. “Why didn’t you tell me? You should have told me! I can’t smell!”

Jongdae grabs the beta’s shoulders, steadying them both as they sway drunkenly in the sand. “Sehunnie, what the hell?” the alpha snorts, his smile threatening to split his face. He doesn’t have a clue what Sehun is saying, he’s just happy that he’s saying it to him, not Minseok. “I don’t unnerstand you,” he slurs.

“Minseok says you reek! But I can’t smell, so I didn’t know!”

Jongdae’s eyebrows angle up toward his hairline, surprise written all over his otherwise lax features. He stares at Sehun dumbfoundedly, trying to comprehend what he just said, then raises his right arm and loudly sniffs his armpit. “I don’t reek!” he shouts. “I shmell like a fucking tropical rainforest!”

“No, nono no! That’s not what I mean,” Sehun says, furrowing his brow in concentration. “I mean this!” He clumsily grabs Jongdae’s face with both hands and leans in, crashing their mouths together. The alpha gasps, chokes on his own saliva - or maybe Sehun’s, he’s not sure right now - and pushes the beta away.

“Wait, what?” he says, his eyes frantically searching Sehun’s face for answers. “I don’t understand!”

A look of pain crosses the beta’s beautiful features, and his chin wibbles in frustration. He begins to turn away from Jongdae, but the alpha grabs his shoulders and roots him in place.

“No, wait, don’t go!” he pleads. “Why did you kiss me if I smell bad? I’m so confused!”

Sehun takes a deep breath, calming himself and trying to corral his racing thoughts. He reaches out to steady himself on Jongdae’s biceps, and looks him in the eyes. “Minseok said you want to mate. With me. And that everyone can smell it on you, but I can’t ‘cause I’m just a beta, so I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jongdae stands there in stunned silence, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“Minseok also told me that I want to mate with you, too. And he says he’s never wrong, and he isn’t wrong, you know?” Sehun continues, growing bolder as he feels he is making more sense. “When he started talking to me about mating, I thought he wanted to mate with me. Like him, Minseok. But I thought, ‘what about Jongdae?’ and I realized that I wanted you, not Minseok, and you were way over here with Baekhyun, and I was way over there with Minseok, but I wanted to be over here with you.”

“You did? You do?” Jongdae asks, looking up at Sehun with eyes finally clearing of confusion. “You want to be with me?”

“Yes! That’s what I’m trying to say,” he exhales in relief. “And you don’t stink!”

Minseok watches unashamedly from his vantage point of the table Sehun recently abandoned, smiling happily as he watches the success of his nefarious plan unfold. He’d known that Jongdae and Sehun were meant for one another, but they were both too oblivious to do anything for themselves. He would be severely lacking as future Alpha to not step in and push his packmates in the right direction - towards happiness.

When the two drunken wolves fall to the sand, kissing so passionately that they are drawing the attention of the crowd, Minseok realizes he needs to step in one more time. He walks over to them, and nudges Jongdae with the toe of his shoe. “Time to go home, lovebirds,” he says in a sing-song voice. When the two continue their make out session, not paying the alpha any mind, he motions to Junmyeon and Yifan who are watching from nearby to come pull them apart. Junmyeon, a jovial beta, picks Jongdae up under his armpits and stands him on his feet, while his mate, a stoic alpha, struggles with Sehun to get him upright.

The three wolves walk the drunken couple to the country lane in front of the lodge, where Sunggyu and Dongwoo have provided complimentary taxis to get their guests home safely. Tucking them into the back seat of the car, Minseok leans in and ruffles their hair before informing the driver that they are to be returned to the E.X.O packhouse.

^・x・^

When they arrive home, the house is dark and silent, as the rest of the pack are still at the reception. They stumble their way up the stairs, giggling and kissing, ricocheting off the walls as they go. They tumble into Jongdae’s room, and fall onto the bed, and lay smiling giddily at each other for several moments, before Jongdae says “Hi.”

Sehun snorts in laughter, and returns the greeting, leaning in to press a kiss to the alpha’s lips. “Are we gonna do this?” he asks, brushing Jongdae’s hair out of his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jongdae breathes, “yeah, we are. I mean, only if you want to. If you’re sure you want me.” He searches Sehun’s face seriously. “This isn’t just because you’re drunk, is it?”

“Nah,” he responds. “I’m not really drunk anymore. Maybe a little buzzed, but I know I want this. You.” A sweet smile spreads across his face. “Who else would I want to spend the rest of my life with other than my best friend?”

Jongdae surges forward and kisses the beta breathless. He pulls away just far enough that he can rub his nose against Sehun’s in an eskimo kiss, then stares into his soon-to-be-mate’s eyes. “I’ve loved you since forever, you know. Maybe not the same way as I do now - because I really do love-love you - but you’ve always been my favorite.”

Smiling contentedly, Sehun says, “I love you, too, Jongdae. Ever since the first time you made me jump onto Luhan from the top of the woodshed. I knew I’d get in trouble, but I would do anything for you, even back then.”

“So why did it take us so damn long to figure this out?” Jongdae huffs in frustration.

“I don’t know,” Sehun responds, returning the eskimo kiss, “but I guess the best things are worth waiting for.”

“Yeah,” the alpha whispers in agreement, stroking the beta’s face. “Have you ever done this before?” he asks, searching Sehun’s eyes.

“No. Guess this is one of those best things, huh?”

“Oh my God, you are so full of cheese!” Jongdae laughs, some of the tension of the moment relieved.

Sehun snorts, “Yeah, well you’re stuck with me now, cheese and all.”

“I am totally okay with that.” He swings his leg across Sehun’s body, and kneels over him, straddling his hips. He lowers himself so that his half-hard cock presses against the beta’s as they stare into each other’s eyes, and they moan in unison low in their throats.

The light-hearted mood changes suddenly, as their eyes darken and their more primal sides begin to make themselves known. Jongdae ruts against Sehun, the friction from the denim between them quickly becoming too much. He watches as Sehun throws his head back, baring his neck in submission to his alpha with his eyes challenging him to bite. To claim him now.

Jongdae throws himself at that creamy, smooth skin, but isn’t ready to leave his mark just yet. He tastes the flesh, open-mouthed and sucking until bruises blossom purple against porcelain, all the while continuing the maddening rhythm of grinding their still-clothed cocks together. 

“Oh my God, stop! I’m gonna come if you don’t stop!” Sehun rasps, gripping Jongdae’s hips to slow his motions. Jongdae breaks away with one last tug on the pale neck, pulling the flesh between his teeth and releasing it with a pop, before panting for air.

He sits up on his knees, releasing the pressure between them as he hovers over Sehun’s body, staring down at his flushed face and purple love bites in awe of how beautiful he looks like this. He grabs the hem of the soft grey sweater, and yanks it up, Sehun raising his arms and upper body so that it is easily removed and thrown to the floor, with Jongdae’s button-down soon to follow. The skinny jeans aren’t quite as easy to get off, so they both stand up long enough to pull down their own pants, then fall back down, naked, on the bed.

“We need lube,” Jongdae pants, “alpha...knot.”

Sehun’s eyes widen momentarily, but then he nods sharply, eager to feel his alpha inside of him. “Do it,” he whispers hotly, “knot me.”

Jongdae growls, deep within his chest, then kisses the breath out of Sehun, their tongues and teeth clashing between them. He tears away, nipping at the beta’s bottom lip before he drops to the floor to root under the head of his bed for the tube of lube he keeps there. When he reappears, he lays eyes on Sehun sprawled out across the mattress, his wrists crossed above his head and his legs bent and spread wide in the most gorgeous exhibition of submission Jongdae could ever imagine. He wishes he had a camera to save the image, but it is burned in his mind, and he knows he will not soon forget the beauty.

He coats his fingers with too much lube, but he knows that betas don’t create their own slick like omegas do, and he doesn’t want to hurt his mate. The possibility of tearing him open the first time he knots Sehun is very real, so he needs to be extremely careful with stretching him so that it doesn’t happen.

“Are you ready?” he asks, making absolutely sure that Sehun wants this, because he is afraid if he isn’t stopped now, if this isn’t exactly what Sehun wants, he may not be able to control himself once his alpha nature takes hold.

Sehun plants his feet against the mattress, spreading his knees wider and raising his ass off of the bed. “Now, Jongdae,” he snarls, his own animal taking hold.

He throws his head back as Jongdae slowly pushes two fingers inside of him, thrashing in pleasure against the pillows. His beta body may not create its own lubrication like an omega’s body, but it is built to take a knot as long as he is prepared well. His inner walls stretch to accommodate the girth without too much pain, and a wolf’s prostate is well positioned to generate nothing but pleasure when a knot is grinding against it. 

All of these sensations are new to him, however, and he is overwhelmed by the feeling of all four of Jongdae’s thin fingers thrusting in and out. Jongdae is panting over him, hungry to thrust his cock inside Sehun’s tight heat. 

“More,” Sehun moans, “I need more.”

Jongdae stares at his hand, his four fingers thrusting in and out of his lover’s body, and he realizes that it isn’t enough to prepare him for the size of his knot. He pulls out and hastily grabs the tube of lube again, and squeezes hard, covering his entire hand. “You asked for it,” he murmurs, sliding his four fingers back inside, then inserting his thumb as well.

“Oh GOD, YES!” Sehun shouts, feeling the stretch as Jongdae fits his entire small hand inside his body, all the way up to his wrist. He can feel each movement, each curl of a finger as Jongdae tightens his hand into a fist and twists it inside of him. “Oh my GOD!”

Sehun screams as he comes, his cock untouched, the sensations inside his body overwhelming his senses and emotions. Tears roll down his face and he bites his own fist as he shoots streams of white onto his belly, his entire body wracked with spasms of intense pleasure. As he calms down, he can feel the shift of Jongdae’s hand uncurling, and pulling out slowly, leaving him empty.

He doesn’t stay empty for long, as Jongdae lunges forward, his mouth claiming Sehun’s as surely as his cock claims his clenching entrance as its own. He is too turned on from watching his lover’s climax to take things slowly, his knot already well on its way to swelling up. Before his cock swells to its full girth, he stops himself and huffs into Sehun’s ear, “Can you support yourself on your fours? So you don’t rip?”

Sehun nods as Jongdae pulls out, and flips himself over quickly. His cock is already standing at attention again as he presents his ass for his alpha. Jongdae accepts the invitation hungrily, pounding back in at a punishing tempo, certain that the intense preparation and new position will prevent harming Sehun. Soon, he can’t pull out, they are tied together by his huge, pulsing knot, pressing against Sehun’s prostate and driving him delirious with pleasure. Jongdae reaches under the beta, grasping his cock and tugging until he can feel his balls tightening and his shaft beginning to pulse. Just as the first shot of white releases onto the bed covers, Jongdae opens his mouth and bites down, hard, at the juncture of Sehun’s neck and shoulder, breaking the skin.

Sehun howls in both pain and pleasure, clenching around Jongdae’s knot and triggering the alpha’s own climax. He releases the flesh from between his teeth and throws his head back with an answering howl of his own as he empties himself into his mate.

They collapse onto the bed, both completely limp with exhaustion. It takes several minutes for Jongdae’s knot to shrink enough to pull out, but by the time it does he is too tired to walk to the bathroom, so Jongdae grabs a t-shirt from the floor, and wipes Sehun, then himself clean. They both stand long enough to strip the stained comforter off the bed, then climb in under the sheets to fall asleep, sated and content, curled up together. 

^・x・^

In the morning, the newly mated pair are cuddled on the couch watching the news and sharing a box of donuts when the front door opens. Sehun doesn’t bother to unwrap himself from around his smaller alpha, sitting on his lap even though he knows what an odd image they must present with his long legs dangling over the arm of the couch.

Minseok walks through the door, and he smiles as he sees the couple. “Good morning! I assume you both had a good night?”

Seeing that it is Minseok, Sehun quickly jumps up, startling Jongdae into sitting up as well. The beta bows to his future Alpha, his loose shirt slipping to expose Jongdae’s teeth marks on his shoulder. “Minseok hyung, thank you for what you did for us last night,” he says earnestly. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t a very good date for you, though.”

Minseok laughs as a loud gasp is heard from outside the door behind him. “Look who’s back from China!” the alpha announces, as Luhan, an omega that had been studying abroad for several months steps into the room, proudly displaying marks on his neck belonging to none other than Minseok.

“Minseok,” the pretty omega growls, “I think you’ve got some explaining to do!”

 

END


End file.
